


finding home

by amybri2002



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Found Family, Gen, Memory Loss, i am ignoring half of the lore to create this self indulgent fic, tags will be added as the story progresses, trigger warnings will be found at the top of chapters if needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-26 12:48:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30106209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amybri2002/pseuds/amybri2002
Summary: There is a house in the distance.Ranboo jaw been observing the house for a while now, as he hid amongst the snow, trying to figure out what had happened to him, why he was there, where he had come from. Who he was.Everything changes when a human living in the house finds him and takes him in, though he still wants to figure out what has happened, wants to figure out a way home.Perhaps home is much closer than he ever thought.
Relationships: Ranboo & Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo
Comments: 12
Kudos: 98





	1. the house in the snow

**Author's Note:**

> hey!!!!   
> round two of attempting dsmp fanfic and here we are with a multichapter and Boy do i have plans.   
> i just. i love ranboo. so much. and i wish for him to have a family dynamic with philza and techno. yes i am ignoring canon no i do not care this is not at all accurate to the lore apart from like. some details i guess. it is accurate to the lore when it is convenient to me.   
> disclaimer, this is all based on the characters within the roleplay, not the real life people themselves ^^   
> so yeah let’s go 
> 
> trigger warnings for this chapter: weapon mention, amnesia, i don’t believe there’s anything else i should tag but let me know

There was a house in the distance. 

Ranboo had noticed it a few days ago now, but still wouldn’t approach, keeping to the little cave that he’d dug out in the snow, staying hidden from sight. There were plenty of other endermen in the area, so he wasn’t alone, but… that house likely meant that there were humans in the area as well. More often than not, humans tended to kill endermen. Ranboo wasn’t ready to die yet. 

He wasn’t sure if the humans  _ would  _ kill him if they got the chance, he wasn’t fully enderman. At least, he was pretty sure that he wasn’t. He didn’t know what exactly his other half was, but… that was fine, he didn’t really need to know either. Right now, all he really cared about was staying safe. 

He wasn’t even quite sure why he was there at all, or how he got there. He couldn’t remember anything from before he found himself wandering the snow biome, apart from who he was. This all felt… wrong. Like he shouldn’t be there. But he still couldn’t figure out a way to leave, or even where to go. 

Back to the End? That’s where endermen like him came from, right? He just had to… 

He didn’t even know if he’d come from there. He… 

He took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled, curling further in on himself. It was cold, half buried in the snow, but there wasn’t much else he could do, at least it never rained here. He’d thought a few times about going to visit that house, surely it must have been warmer there, but he didn’t want to risk that, he didn’t know what the inhabitants were like. For now, this hole would do, until he figured out something more permanent. 

Footsteps. Snow crunching beneath someone’s feet, the sound of a sword swinging around. A person, a  _ human _ \- 

Ranboo held his breath, wishing desperately that he would not be found, curling even deeper into the snow, shielding his face. He wasn’t sure what that would do, exactly - this guy had a sword, he’d likely be dead in a couple hits, he never had managed to get the hang of teleporting like he was supposed to, nor was he the best fighter without a weapon… 

“For Prime’s sake,” a voice said. “What did I tell Techno about covering up creeper holes...” Ranboo heard someone crouch down, just outside the hole. And then bits of dirt and snow began to fall down into the hole, and Ranboo yelped in alarm, beginning to panic - he didn’t want to be buried alive, didn’t want to have to dig his way out, didn’t want to be covered in that freezing cold snow. The shovelling stopped suddenly. “What the…?” 

A head poked in through the entrance of the hole, eyes widening as he spotted Ranboo. Ranboo tried to shuffle back, away from the  _ human _ , though he was already as far back in the snow as he could be. All he could do was stare, and hope that the human was feeling merciful. Humans didn’t  _ always  _ kill enderman, sometimes they’d just leave them be, right? There were plenty of enderman in the area, so… they couldn’t possibly kill them all. 

Ranboo glanced up at the human for a millisecond, before staring back down at the snow, trying to not hyperventilate.  _ Deep breaths.  _ He counted along in his head, trying to get it under control. The human was still just staring at him. 

And then he was moving further into the hole, crouching down in front of Ranboo. Ranboo made an effort to keep his eyes fixed on the floor. The human still had his sword out, in just a few swings he would be… 

“Hey, hey, calm down,” the human said, voice… gentle. That wasn’t right, humans weren’t… “You shouldn’t be… sat in a hole like this, I- Do you live around here?” 

Ranboo blinked a few times, still avoiding eye contact with the human. He didn’t reply, eyes flicking over to the sword still in his hand, trying desperately to take in a deep breath. 

“Oh, I-“ The human put his sword away, holding up his empty hands. “Sorry, I’m- I’m not going to hurt you, don’t worry-“ 

Ranboo just seemed more confused at that. What was- 

“Do you want to come with me?” the human asked, to which Ranboo finally looked up with him, locking eyes for a moment, before looking away again, staring at the human’s chest. “You must be freezing in here, just- you can come sit in my house for a bit, if you want.” 

Ranboo didn’t understand. Why would… Was this a trick, or something? 

The human sighed. “Prime, you… probably don’t even understand me, do you? You’re, like, an enderman, or something… a baby enderman? Never seen one of those before, uh…” 

“I can understand you,” Ranboo eventually said, voice very, very quiet. So quiet that, at first, it seemed as though the human didn’t hear him, though a moment later he tilted his head, looking… surprised. 

“So you can talk as well,” he observed, glancing behind him for a moment, before looking back at Ranboo. “Come with me, okay? I’ll get you some nice warm soup and let you sit by the fire if that sounds good?” 

That did sound good. Very good, Ranboo wasn’t sure when the last time he’d eaten was, and… Prime, he was so, so cold. He slowly nodded, forcing himself to look up at the human, who smiled softly in return and offered a hand. Ranboo took it, allowing the human to help him stand and lead him over towards the house in the distance, the one he’d been watching. 

“So, uh, what’s your name?” the human asked, glancing at Ranboo. 

Ranboo looked down to the floor, focusing on the sensation of the snow crunching beneath his feet. “Ranboo.” 

“It’s lovely to meet you, Ranboo,” the human replied. “I’m Philza. Or Phil, for short.” 

“It’s, um, nice to meet you as well.” Ranboo sucked in a deep breath and slowly exhaled, as Phil led him into the wooden house. He showed him to the fire, allowing him to sit down, then moved into another room for a minute or so, coming back not long after with two bowls of soups. Ranboo took one, beginning to slowly drink it. 

Phil sat down with him, silent for a moment before he cautiously asked, “So, what… are you?” 

To that, Ranboo shrugged. “I’m not really sure. Half-enderman, I think. Though I have no clue what the other half of me is.” 

Phil raised an eyebrow. “You… don’t know? But, like… so, what, your mum was an enderman and your dad was a…?” 

Ranboo shrugged again. “I don’t know. I don’t remember my parents.” He frowned. “Honestly, they might be dead. I- I haven’t… I don’t  _ think  _ I’ve seen them for a… while, now…” His brain felt fuzzy when he tried to think about his parents, not remembering a thing. Not even a vague memory of their face, or a lullaby, or… or even their voices. 

Phil hummed in thought. “Okay, well… that’s alright. How old are you?” 

Ranboo wasn’t even sure about the answer to that. “Uh… like, sixteen? Seventeen? I think?” 

“Okay, so a child, good to know.” Phil drank some of his soup. “So how’d you get here? What are you doing here?” 

“I, uh…” What was he supposed to say? Prime, why was Phil asking so many damn questions? “I don’t know. I don’t remember. I just… I can’t remember what I was doing before I ended up in this snowy place. I was wandering around for a few days before I even realised where I was. I don’t know why I’m here.” 

Phil frowned, looking Ranboo up and down. “You are a very strange kid.” 

Ranboo just shrugged, looking over to the fire. “Yeah, I guess.” 

“Well…” Phil drank the rest of his soup, then placed the bowl on the floor in front of him. “My, uh, housemate will be gone for another few days, I think, so you could probably take his bedroom for the time being, if you need somewhere to sleep.” 

Ranboo blinked, looking back at Phil. “Oh, uh, I- I wouldn’t want to intrude, or anything-“ 

“You wouldn’t be intruding,” Phil said. “I’d… imagine that a bed would be nicer than a hole in the snow.” 

Ranboo looked back down to his now half-empty bowl, swishing around the liquid. “I guess, yeah. Um… thank you?” He lifted his bowl up to his lips, downing the rest of the soup. 

Phil smiled a little, shrugging. “It’s no problem, kid.” He stood up and offered a hand out to Ranboo. “You want me to show you the room?” 

Ranboo stared at his hand for a moment, hesitant, before he carefully took it, allowing Phil to pull him up off the ground and lead him up a ladder on one wall, to the top floor, where Phil dropped him off. There was a bed pressed up against one wall, some bookshelves on the other, a chest at the end of the bed, a few photos on the wall. 

“Uh, I’d advise that you don’t touch any of Techno’s stuff,” Phil said, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. “Though he probably wouldn’t mind if you read some of his books, or whatever. Um… I’ll be downstairs if you need me, or maybe outside. Though it is getting late, so… yeah. Have a good sleep.” 

Ranboo nodded along, giving Phil a warm smile. “Thank you. I’ll… try my best.” 

Phil nodded, then moved to climb back down the ladder, closing the trapdoor and leaving Ranboo alone. 

As soon as Ranboo could no longer hear Phil, he let out a breath that he hadn’t noticed he was holding, moving over to sit down on the bed. He took in a deep breath, slowly exhaling. This was fine, this Philza guy was… nice, not at all like what he’d heard about humans. It seemed like he genuinely wanted to help Ranboo. This was good. He could just… stay a few days, get back on his feet, figure out where to go from here. He should probably go back home, right? He just… needed to figure out where that was. And whilst he figured that out, he could stay here. 

He just hoped that he figured it out before that ‘Techno’ guy came back. 

After a few moments of recomposing himself, Ranboo looked up, taking in the room properly. His eyes glanced over some of the pictures, picking one off to take a closer look - a group photograph. Phil was on it, stood right at the back, though he looked just a little bit younger. In front of Phil were two other boys - one piglin with long pink hair, wearing a cape and a crown, and the other a human with curled brown hair underneath a beanie, wearing a yellow jumper. The human’s face had been crossed out in red marker. And there were… two other people, he was pretty sure - either side of the photo had been torn off, though Ranboo could just make out a hand on both sides, one holding the human’s hand and the other holding the piglin’s. He wondered who they all were. Though he supposed that wasn’t any of his business, and… well, he shouldn’t be touching Techno’s stuff. 

Shaking his head, Ranboo put the picture back and stood up, moving over to the bookshelf, his finger tracing over the spines. He wasn’t brilliant at written… human language, really only knew it from what he’d picked up listening to others - when had he listened to others? Was- He didn’t… 

He shook his head again. Not the time. Instead, he picked out a book, flicking open to a random page. 

It was written in Ender. 

Huh. 

Ranboo had no idea why these humans would keep a book written in Ender - was ‘Techno’ an enderman too? Or another creature from the End? Or… was this for something else… 

Whatever. At least he was fluent in this language. He moved back to the bed, crawling underneath the covers and beginning to read. It seemed to be some sort of fairytale, or old enderman myth, or… something. He vaguely recognised the story, but couldn’t quite tell where from. 

It didn’t matter. Not long after he started reading, Ranboo passed out, book falling onto his face as he drifted off into a deep sleep. 


	2. the kid with horns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ranboo and tubbo meeting time :) i love them 
> 
> don’t think there’s anything i need to warn for this chapter other than ranboo being riddled with anxiety, but let me know if i should warn for anything 
> 
> hope y’all enjoy~

Ranboo wasn’t entirely sure how he had got here. 

He was alone, wandering around some… city? Something like that. There were houses, or buildings, or… whatever. It was quiet, seemingly empty. And it… looked safe, he didn’t feel afraid, it just… didn’t feel right. 

What could he remember? He remembered… 

There was a fiery place. Lots of lava, lots of red, lots of creatures trying to attack them. They went across several bridges, and then came through a… 

Portal. Phil had told him to wait by the portal, whilst he went to sort some things out. 

Oh. 

Oh no. 

What if Phil had already got back, and was worrying about him now? Phil had been so, so kind, so… protective, he didn’t want Ranboo to get hurt, he didn’t even want to leave him in the house alone, he said that he wouldn’t be long. How long had Ranboo been wandering around now? 

He sat down at the side of the road, holding his head in his hands, knees bunched up. This was fine. This was fine. He could find his way back, or maybe Phil would find him. He just… He looked up and down the road, though couldn’t remember where he’d even come from, let alone where the portal was now. He just… 

Maybe if he stayed exactly where he was, Phil would be able to find him. That was what you were supposed to do, right? When you’re lost, you’re meant to stay put, wait for help. 

He missed Philza. He felt safe with Philza, now he was… vulnerable, what if a human came along and attacked him? What if… 

“Hello,” a cheery voice said besides him. Ranboo looked up, staring ahead, pointedly not turning his head towards the newcomer. “Are you new? I don’t think I’ve seen you before…” 

In that moment, Ranboo wanted more than anything to actually have the ability to teleport. That would have been great. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be an option. Phil had told him not to talk to anyone, hadn’t he? What if this guy- 

“Sorry, did I scare you?” the stranger said, shifting to face towards Ranboo. 

Ranboo quickly shook nice. “No, no, just, um…” He sucked in a deep breath, beginning to stand. “I should go. Sorry.” 

The stranger frowned. “Go? Why?” 

“I, um, I-“ He could already feel himself beginning to panic. He wanted Phil. Where was Phil? Why was this person trying to talk to him?  _ Why couldn’t he bring himself to back away?  _

“Hey, hey, deep breathes, big man,” the stranger said, calmly, reaching out for Ranboo’s arm, who immediately drew back. “Sit back down, it’s okay, you’re safe here. I’m not gonna hurt you or anything.” 

Ranboo still looked as though he wanted to be literally anywhere else, though took a deep breath as instructed, slowly sitting back down. Maybe this person could help him, at least? He didn’t  _ seem  _ bad, and whilst he knew that Phil said not to speak to anyone, maybe that just meant don’t speak to bad people? This guy didn’t seem bad. 

“Sorry,” Ranboo mumbled, once he’d managed to calm himself down again. “I just… I don’t know.” 

“It’s alright,” the stranger said. “I probably shouldn’t have snuck up on you like that. I’m sorry. Uh… I’m Tubbo.” 

Ranboo blinked, finally managing to convince himself to look up at the other guy. “Uh… I’m Ranboo,” he introduced. “It’s nice to meet you…?” 

Tubbo appeared to be around Ranboo’s age, wearing blue dungarees over a green shirt, messy brown hair, a few pin badges of bees and other bugs over his heart. He looked friendly enough, wide smile, a gap between his two front teeth, kind eyes. He actually looked fairly normal, compared to Ranboo at least, apart from the two curled horns extending out of his head. 

“It’s nice to meet you too!” Tubbo grinned. “So, like, you  _ are  _ new here, right?” 

Ranboo nodded. “Yes. Uh… this is my first time here.” 

“Well, in that case, welcome!” Tubbo said, sounding actually excited to have Ranboo here. “Have you picked out a spot for a house yet? I could help you, if you wanted-“ 

Ranboo quickly shook his head, eyes widening. “Uh, no, no, I, uh… I’m already living somewhere.” 

Silence for a moment. “Oh.” Another pause. “Well, that’s alright. Is it far from here?” 

Ranboo frowned. It didn’t feel like too long of a journey, though he was fairly certain that whatever dimension they had entered to get here was smaller in scale, like some sort of wormhole, a short cut. He had no idea how far away Phil’s house actually was. “I, uh… I’m not sure. We came through a portal?” 

“Ah, that must be far away, then,” Tubbo said, then paused again, looking at Ranboo quizzically. “We? Did you come with-“ 

“Yeah.” Ranboo let out a breath. “He, um… He did tell me to wait by the portal, but- but I don’t know, I wandered off. And I don’t really know how to get back there now.” 

Tubbo blinked. “Oh, so, you’re, like, lost?” 

“Yeah, kinda.” Ranboo rubbed the back of his neck. 

Tubbo hummed. “Well, I know the way back to the portal,” he said. “I could show you the way, if you'd like?” 

Ranboo perked up at that. “Really? I- I, uh, I’d really appreciate that.” 

Tubbo grinned. “Well, then, let’s go!” He stood up, offering out a hand to Ranboo, who quickly took it, allowing Tubbo to pull him off the ground. When Ranboo stood to his full height, he noticed that he was quite a bit taller than Tubbo - at least a foot and a half taller, surely, possibly a whole two feet. This didn’t really surprise him, Ranboo was taller than most people, though still shorter than the average enderman. 

“So, Ranboo, tell me a bit about yourself,” Tubbo said, looking up at him as they began to walk down the path. “You’re, what, like an enderman or something?” 

Ranboo nodded. “Yes. Well… half enderman. And no, before you ask, I do not know what my other half is. I’ve been trying to figure that out.” 

Tubbo just shrugged at that, humming. “Makes sense. I mean, you look pretty similar to an enderman, but I’ve never seen one with one half completely white.” 

“You… don’t think it’s weird, that I don’t know what I am?” 

“Nah.” Tubbo giggled a little. “I mean, I can relate. I’ve got no clue who my parents were either. My biological ones, at least. I mean, I’ve got these horns, which I think are like… goat horns, or something? I don’t know. Apparently my adopted father found me in a cardboard box on the side of the road, and here I am! He was probably more of a father than my biological one would have been. Until he left.” 

Ranboo took a moment to process all of that, sympathy tugging in his chest for the other kid. “Oh. Uh… where did he go?” 

Tubbo shrugged. “He just kinda disappeared.” 

“What about your mother?” 

“Don’t have one.” 

Ranboo frowned. “So you’re all alone?” 

“Eh.” Tubbo shrugged. “Not really. I have my little brother still. And my friends here. I’m quite happy.” He paused, turning to Ranboo. “Do you miss your parents?” 

Ranboo blinked, looking away. “I don’t remember them. So, uh… kinda hard to miss them.” 

Tubbo frowned. “What do you mean you-“ 

“I’d rather not talk about it.” Tubbo stopped at that. “Sorry, just… have a lot going on right now. I’m trying to figure things out, but…” He sighed. “I lost pretty much all of my memories. I don’t remember much before, like, a week ago.” 

Tubbo was silent for a moment. “Oh. That… doesn’t sound good.” 

“It’s not.” Ranboo plastered on a smile. “I’ll be okay, though. I’ve got this guy who I’m staying with, he’s got this big house in this… snowy place. Not sure how long I’ll be staying for, probably just a few days until I figure out how to get home, but… yeah.” 

Tubbo hummed in thought. “Do you even know where ‘home’ is?” 

He didn’t know where home was. The logical assumption was that his home was the End, of course, but… well, enderman came from all over, just because they originated from the End didn’t mean that they… well, he could always try the End. Surely if he managed to get there, it’s all click into place, if it really was his home. Kinda like jogging his memory. So all he needed to do was find a portal and hop in and that was it, everything would be okay again. 

Unless his home wasn’t the End, in which case things would be a lot more difficult. He wasn’t entirely sure how big this Overworld was, how far he’d have to search. It could even be in the Nether for all he knew - though walking through that place with Phil didn’t exactly ring any bells either. He just… He’d find something, eventually. Maybe his memories would start to come back at some point, hopefully soon. 

“Ranboo?” Tubbo waved a hand in front of his face, having to jump up to reach him. “You there, buddy?” 

Ranboo blinked, then shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. “Sorry, just… got lost in thought. What was the question again?” 

“Do you know where ‘home’ is?” he repeated. 

“No,” Ranboo replied, plainly. “Though I… have some ideas. I need to find an Ender Portal, or something. That might help me remember.” 

Tubbo blinked. “An Ender Portal?” 

“Yeah. Do you know where any are?” 

Tubbo hesitated, before shaking his head, some curly hair falling in front of his eyes. “Gonna be honest, I’m not even sure what that is. I mean, we’ve got plenty of  _ Nether _ Portals, but…” His eyes widened. “Oh, Ender like  _ enderman _ ?” 

Ranboo frowned. “Uh, yeah, that is kinda where we get the name from. We come from the End.” 

Tubbo tilted his head. “The End,” he repeated, frowning a little. “I… think Dad used to talk about that sometimes. But they were all just stories.”

“Oh.” Ranboo looked ahead, suddenly growing more nervous. “So… you guys don’t have a portal around here?” 

“Not that I know of.” Tubbo shrugged. “I mean, either way, the stories always ended with the message that it was forbidden anyway. So even if we did have a portal I don’t think we could go through it.” 

“O-Oh.” Ranboo looked down to the ground, gulping. “Still, I… I can try to find one. Maybe. I’ve gotta get back somehow.” 

“So your home is in the End?” 

“Maybe?” He shrugged. “Again, I don’t-“ 

He was cut off by someone landing in front of him, wings spread out and blocking the sun. Ranboo looked up, a smile spreading across his face when he noticed that it was Phil - Phil! Phil was back, he’d be safe with Phil. He soon ran up to him, throwing his arms around the older man’s shoulders. 

“Phil! Thank Prime, I- I was looking for you all over, I-“ 

“Shh, shh.” Phil pulled away from Ranboo, looking up at him, though thankfully still avoiding his eyes. He placed his hands on Ranboo’s shoulder, quickly checking him over. “I told you to stay by the portal.” 

“I- I know, I’m sorry, I didn’t even notice that I had wandered off until it was too late.” 

Phil sighed, pulling Ranboo back into a hug. “That’s alright, kiddo. I was so worried when I got back and saw you weren’t there, immediately took to the skies to try to find you again. So glad that I did.”

“Thank you,” Ranboo whispered. He stayed there for a few moments longer, basking in Phil’s warmth, before drawing back again. “It was alright, though, I was making my way back. I even found someone that was helping, he-“ 

Ranboo turned around, only to find that Tubbo had disappeared. He frowned. Where had he gone? He… wasn’t imagining him, surely, but… he hadn’t even heard him leave. Hadn’t noticed him leave. Hadn’t even said goodbye. 

“He’s gone.” Ranboo hummed, pulling away from Phil entirely and walking a few steps in the direction of where he and Tubbo had come from, looking around, but there was still no sign of him. “That’s… odd.” 

Phil came up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, Ranboo. I did… tell you not to speak to anyone, didn’t I?” 

Ranboo sighed. “You did. Sorry about that, as well.” 

“It’s alright, I’m not mad.” 

“He was nice, though,” Ranboo said. 

“I’m sure that he was.” Phil carefully turned Ranboo around, beginning to lead him back to the portal. “But let’s just get back home for now, yeah?” 

Ranboo followed Phil, expression blank for a moment. He already missed Tubbo, it was nice having someone his age to talk to. He’d have to come back here at some point, try to find him again. Maybe he could be a real friend. 

“Yeah, let’s just get back,” Ranboo eventually said, pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind and looking at Phil again, giving him a small smile. 

“Portal’s just at the end of this road - I’ll race ya?” 

Ranboo grinned. “Bring it on.” He began to run down the road, his long legs giving him a good boost, whilst Phil took off and began to fly towards the portal. Ranboo let out a hearty laugh, racing the old man to the portal in the distance, beginning to glow in the growing dark. 

Yeah, things were gonna be okay. Ranboo thought that he was going to like it here, very much. 


End file.
